BEING A WELL KNOWN REBBE IS A PUNISHMENT
The Biala Rebbe of Lugano explained that Tzaddikim held that to become well known as a Rebbe was a form of punishment or torture, and said that his father, the Chelkas Yehoshua, used to say, “Better to be a shoemaker than a Rebbe!” (Mevaser Tov Yeshuas Avrohom p. 10)
JUST TWO DEMANDS
The Biala Rebbe of Lugano said that his father, the Chelkas Yehoshua, used to awaken the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to serve Hashem and would ask of them two things: “The main things I ask of you are Kedusha (holiness) and Tikkun HaMiddos (correcting character traits).” (Mevaser Tov Yeshuas Avrohom, p. 233)
BELIEF IN AM SEGULA
The Chelkas Yehoshua established that as one of the main principles of faith, we should daily declare that “I believe with full faith – Ani maamin beemunah sheleima – that Bnei Yisrael are Hashem’s segula [supernatural and above the laws of the natural order], they are His portion and they are the inheritance of Hashem, the Creator. He even incorporated this into his siddur after reciting the Rambam’s thirteen Ikrei Emuna. (Mevaser Tov Yeshuas Avrohom, p. 363)
